Matitone, Postmodern skyscraper in San Benigno district, Genoa, Italy.
Matitone is a 109 meter tall skyscraper in Genoa featuring a distinctive pencil-shaped cylindrical form made of glass and steel. The building contains 24 floors and serves as a modern office complex in the San Benigno district.
Matitone was designed by the renowned architectural firm Skidmore Owings Merrill and completed in 1992 during a period of major urban modernization in northern Italy. The tower marked a shift toward contemporary design in a city known for its historical character.
The building takes its name from the Italian word for pencil, referencing its cylindrical shape that marks Genoa's modern identity. Visitors notice how its distinctive outline stands apart from the older surroundings.
The tower is located in the modern San Benigno business district and remains easily recognizable from most vantage points across the city. Its distinctive shape serves as a useful landmark for navigating the surrounding area.
The postmodern structure employs its cylindrical form not merely as an aesthetic choice but also to enhance wind resistance in this coastal location. This functional elegance makes it a notable example of late twentieth-century architecture in Genoa's evolution.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
